OP-ED - Time To Get Into the Game: Social Work and Sports Activists

Football Player Kneeling

by Leon Banks, Ph.D., MSW, and Anna Scheyett, Ph.D., MSW

Professional and amateur athletes have a long history of social activism and protest. We have seen numerous powerful and symbolic actions by athletes. Who can forget Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s bowed heads and raised fists as a salute to black power on the winner’s podium at the 1968 Olympics? More recently, the world has watched NFL protests of racism and police brutality, which began when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem. Many athletes are using the status and influence accorded them by their star status to protest injustice and bring attention to the profound problems of racism, violence, and discrimination in our society.

It is puzzling that social work, a profession committed to social justice, has not vocally supported and joined with the protests of these athletes. Social workers and athletes have historically not often worked together. Social workers may sometimes have been dismissive of the perceived frivolity, physicality, or aggressiveness of sports. However, it is time to collaborate for social justice--we would make a powerful team. These star athlete activists have a passion for addressing injustice and a breadth of visibility inaccessible to social workers. Social workers have advocacy skills, an understanding of policy, and knowledge of effective programs that promote well-being. Together, we could be an indefatigable force for positive change.

As social workers, it is time to reach out to our fellow activists in the world of sports, to offer our skills and dedication in partnership, and to work together to shine a light on injustice and make change happen. We need to lock arms, and get in the game.

Leon Banks, Ph.D., MSW, is the Director of the BSW program and the Director of MSW Admissions at the University of Georgia.

Anna Scheyett, Ph.D., MSW, is Dean and Professor at the University of Georgia School of Social Work. Her practice and research have focused on community integration of vulnerable adults, and she is a founding member of the National Alliance of Social Workers in Sports.

Leon Banks and Anna Scheyett will be presenting at the 3rd Annual Social Work in Sports Symposium on October 17, 2017, in Dallas TX. Their talk is titled Get in the Game: Social Work’s Responsibility in Supporting the Athlete Activist.

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Comments (3)

The work place and the individual

Sports activists and social work. I respectively suggest the place to protest is not the workplace especially when that venue is often the only reason they would be paid attention or noticed, it is about the team or business not the individual participant. What they wish to do as individuals in any forum away from work is certainly acceptable and their right, imposing that on the work place could lead to changed or lessor outcomes for the business so they certainly have the potential to then limit their available work which is akin to shooting themselves in the foot. We need to recognize the separation from an employer, even a public one and the individual. Without these work place jobs many would have much greater difficulties. The country and flag and our anthem are seen as unifying signs of our shared greater beliefs and those should be honored given the terrible sacrifices that have been made to earn and preserve our ongoing freedoms, keep these out of the situation and workplace. Thanks.

Daniel Bird, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW61 days ago

Activism

Agree that the social work profession needs to step up to be proactive in dealing with any injustice, and that the protests that are occurring in sports venues need to be acknowledged for exactly what they are and not be made into some political means for divisiveness. This seems to be a time that is prime for the social work profession to again take a stand for unity.

Dennis Crowell62 days ago

So True!

So true! Social workers have a variety of skills to assist athletes as advocates and philanthropists. Not only are we intimately familiar with the issues athletes are concerned about, but we have experience advocating on a variety of levels. Lets get in the game!

socialworkersinsports@gmail.com62 days ago

Readers React

All of these tips are spot on. I applied these tips to my MSW journey before I graduate in 2015. Ho